Buildings and other structures with exterior walls, ceilings, floors, and/or roofs framed from steel components are ubiquitous because of the superior physical properties of steel vis-a-vis wood, concrete, and other building materials and because steel components commonly prove more economical because less material is used. One particularly significant disadvantage of such structural members is that they transfer heat from the interior of the building in which they are found to its exterior and in the opposite direction. Sound and other vibrations are transferred with equal facility.
This minimally inhibited transfer of heat is deleterious because it can result in the spreading of fire. And, in less severe instances, the transfer of heat through the steel members can result in an expensive loss of heat from the building in which they are found and/or can increase air conditioning costs by allowing the transfer of heat from the ambient surroundings to the interior of a building.
Different approaches to the problems dealt with in the preceding paragraphs have been proposed if not actually used. One is to configure a building component, in this case a stud, such that stagnant air pockets are formed between the exterior/interior edges of the stud and inner/outer panels covering the pocket-defining surfaces of the component. The just-described solution to the thermal isolation problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,057 issued Nov. 25, 1980.
The Executive Summary of the 1999 North American Steel Framing Alliance Business Plan (page 4A) suggests, in the abstract, the use of “greater thicknesses of cavity/wall insulation and/or exterior rigid board insulation to provide a thermal break.” On page 9A of the Executive Summary, the authors recognize that there is a need for improved thermal performance. This need persists to the present day.